Sunday, May 28, 2017

Within the Blue Jay Barrens prairie openings are a
scattering of medium to small sized Blackjack Oaks. Some of these trees are decades old, but
various environmental factors keep them from getting very large. Dry site conditions limit water available to the
tree, White-tail Deer find them to be the perfect choice for rubbing antlers,
Periodical Cicadas cause a dramatic die-back every 17 years and a wide variety
of insects find the leaves extremely palatable.
I make several close examinations of these trees each spring as I follow
the development of the Edwards’ Hairstreak butterfly larvae, one of those
species with a dietary preference for Blackjack Oak.

Edwards’ Hairstreak eggs hatch just as the oak buds begin to
swell in early spring. The larvae feed
on the buds and newly developing leaves.
On May 8, temperatures dropped to 29°F causing frost and freeze damage
to many plants. Damage to Blackjack Oaks
varied between individual trees, but all suffered the loss of some new
growth. This was a setback for both the
trees and the Edwards’ Hairstreak larvae.
Fortunately, buds were not affected and regrowth was rapid.

When I checked the Blackjack Oaks three days ago, the leaves
were showing signs of heavy predation by the Edwards’ Hairstreak larvae. When this magnitude of damage occurs to the
leaves it is a good indicator that the larvae have reached their final instar
stage and will soon be pupating. At this
point it does no good to search the tree for larvae, because they do not spend
the day in the open.

Young Edwards’ Hairstreak larvae remain in the open feeding
through the day. When they become older,
they feed only at night and spend the day at the base of the oaks, hidden in
cavities constructed by Allegheny Mound Ants.

Near sundown, the larvae leave their shelter and begin
climbing the tree.

Each larva is accompanied by its own cadre of ants. From the
time they hatch until emergence as adults, the Edwards’ Hairstreaks are
accompanied by ants. The larvae achieve
a degree of protection from the ants and the ants receive a sugary Honeydew solution
excreted by the larvae.

The larvae on the first tree went too high to be easily
observed, so I switched my attention to a smaller tree that displayed feeding
activity. This tree was less than three
feet high and struggling to regrow leaves killed by the freeze.

The larva’s head is located near the top of this photo. As the larva eats, an ant visits honeydew
producing glands near the larva’s tail.

It’s fortunate that pupation is near. This tree was loaded with larvae. At the rate they’re eating, the tree may soon
be stripped bare of leaves.

The above video is a compilation of several shots of moving
and feeding Edwards' Hairstreak Larvae. Make sure your sound is on, so you can enjoy the call of the Chuck-will's-widow while you watch. This
video, in a possibly clearer form, may also be viewed on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Blue Jay Barrens is experiencing an influx of thousands of young
Eastern American Toads emerging from the still under construction Toad Pool 2.
This little guy has fully absorbed his tail and, looking every bit like the adult
version of his species, is moving away from the pool towards the open fields.

The pool experienced no shortage of water this spring.
Frequent rains provided above average rainfall totals causing the water to
regularly be at a level higher than intended.

Toad eggs appeared in the pond on March 29 and began
hatching on April 2. By April 5 the eggs had completed hatching, but the
tadpoles were not yet mobile and their pattern on the bottom of the pool continued
to match the strings of eggs that had been laid out a week before.

After exiting the egg membrane, the tadpoles remain
stationary for several days as they absorb their yolk sacs and mature into a
more traditional tadpole form. Their first food will be the algae seen growing
on the empty jelly strings and pool bottom.

Once they become mobile, with tadpoles migrate upslope to
shallower water where the generally warmer temperatures will aid in their growth
and development. Their initial efforts cause them to congregate atop the
slightly higher mounds on the pool bottom.

A few days later their improved swimming ability allows them
to reach the shallow water at the edge of the pool.

The unfinished condition of the toad pool caused an
unintended broad expanse of shallow water to become available to the tadpoles.

The shallow area, which had been left smooth when
construction was halted last fall, had become pocked with depressions caused by
deer visiting the pool.

As water levels receded during uncharacteristic hot periods
between rainfalls, the depressions became isolated pockets that rapidly dried
after their connection to the main body of water was severed. Tadpoles caught
in these depressions quickly perished.

Fortunately, I still retained the mud puddle engineering
skills that I had honed as a child and was able to make periodic adjustments in
the way of dams and channels to ameliorate the desiccation threat to the
tadpoles. If weather conditions allow me to complete my construction activities
is fall, the hazard should not exist next year.

Transformation from tadpole to terrestrial toad form began a
week ago and is now proceeding at a rapid pace.

Once all four legs appear, the tail quickly shrinks and the
young toad pushes himself free of the water.

It spends a day or two near the water’s edge before heading
off to begin a terrestrial lifestyle.

The little toads are so numerous in the vicinity of the pool
but I can’t walk in that area without stepping on a few, so I’m waiting until
they’ve had a chance to disperse before checking the pool again. I’m looking
forward to encountering these little guys through the summer. It will be two or
three years before this year’s hatch is mature enough to return here to breed.
By that time Toad Pool 2 will be completed and, with any luck, there should
also be a Toad Pool 3.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

The lone Blue Jay Barrens Yellow Lady’s Slipper Orchid sent
up two stalks this year and managed to produce three full blooms.

It’s hard to consider a population as being stable when
there is just a single individual involved.
As in the past, I’ve been searching to discover another of this species
somewhere on the property. No luck so
far.

This plant manages to send up at least one flowering stalk
each year. Unfortunately, it seems a
normal occurrence for disaster to befall the plant before it can develop a seed
pod. The flowers and top of plant have
been eaten on several occasions, a large limb fell and crushed the single
flower that developed that year, a strange wilting disease shriveled up the
flowers another year. It always seems to
be something. This year it was a
particularly violent wind storm.

This flower lost its slipper completely.

A neatly storm cleaved slipper makes it easy to view the interior
pattern.

Only one of the three flowers was unscathed. So far, the plants have only had to contend
with a single disaster per year. Though
that doesn’t mean they are now really safe.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia
virginica, has been added to the flora list as the 544th plant
species known to reside within the borders of Blue Jay Barrens. This is a rather common native species for
this area that I knew was to be found growing in the floodplains downstream of
my property. Since the seeds of
floodplain plants are generally moved by flood waters in a downstream
direction, I thought it unlikely that Virginia Bluebells would show up
here. Four individual plants were
discovered, but only one produced blooms this year.

The other three plants exist as only a few leaves.

To the West, Blue Jay Barrens tapers to a long narrow point
which contains a short segment of Creek bounded on both sides by extremely
steep slopes. I refer to this area as Farpoint because, at a distance of six
tenths of a mile, it is the farthest point away from my back door. The length
of the Creek from property line to property line is only about 160 feet. The
thing that makes Farpoint interesting is the fact that the Creek is fed by a
different watershed than that which maintains the Creek on the east side of the
property. Several the plants on the Blue Jay Barrens flora list exist only at
Farpoint and I credit the Farpoint watershed as being a major cause of that
fact.

I would guess these plants to be two or three years old. If they
survive, I would not be surprised to see them flowering next year or the year
after.

All of the plants are growing in that precarious gravel bar
area within the actual creek banks. A major flash flood event could easily
remove both vegetation and gravel from the site. If I find that the flowering
individual produces viable seed, I will probably take the liberty of scattering
some of that seed in the more stable area about the creek bank. Perhaps in a
few years, Farpoint will display a few nice clumps of Virginia Bluebells.

ABOUT BLUE JAY BARRENS

Located in the Bluegrass region of Southern Ohio, Blue Jay Barrens contains excellent xeric habitat inhabited by a wide variety of rare native plant and animal species. Since 1985, this private property has been managed to improve the integrity of the special ecosystems found here. This blog provides information on the current activities at Blue Jay Barrens.

RESPONSE TO COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BLOG

It’s my intent to share information on current events at Blue Jay Barrens. Unless otherwise noted in the text, all photos were taken by me at Blue Jay Barrens.

Plant scientific names are from Gleason and Cronquist 1991. I realize that some changes in preferred nomenclature have occurred, but this is the principle reference I have been using for flora identification. Knowing this, I believe most people can figure out just what plant I’m talking about.

My discussions of flora and fauna are not intended to be a complete life history. There are plenty of good references for this type of information. I am discussing my personal experiences with plants and animals on this specific property. Any other information I may provide is intended to help you understand the significance of my observations.

MY 3 FAVORITE NATURE BOOKS:

1- Of Mosquitoes, Moths and Mice, by C Brooke Worth.2- Mosquito Safari: A Naturalist in Southern Africa, by C Brooke Worth.3- A Naturalist in Trinidad, by C Brooke Worth.

MY 3 FAVORITE FICTION BOOKS:

1- The Witches of Karres by James H Schmitz2- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham3- The Windhover Tapes (1st 3 volumes) by Warren Norwood

MY 3 FAVORITE MOVIES:

1- Vanishing Point 1971 with Barry Newman2- Flim Flam Man 1967 with George C Scott - also like the book by Guy Owens3- The Lathe Of Heaven 1979 with Bruce Davison - also like the book by Ursula K LeGuin

MY 3 FAVORITE TV SHOWS:

1- The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan2- Fawlty Towers with John Cleese3- Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin